Vehicle window screen



P 25, 1951 5. J. GALLA 2,568,800

VEHICLE WINDOW SCREEN Filed April 5, 1946 IIIIIIIII STEPHEN J. GALLAINVENTOR. dair /am.

ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 25, 1951 UNITED STAITEl -S PATENT OFFICE MotorC mpany, 'Dearb {tien of; Delaw re om, Micki, a co nere- ApplicationApril 5, 1946, ScrialNo. 659,793

1 Claim. min ser es) This i ven on releteseene elly to e rem abl win owscreen'IorautmIlQ Y =V I 1S- 7 i111 re ent years there has been an incrasin {great r emand from the buyin pu l c .a e e -cessories andrefinements ihautemetiv .rehiele windo sc n i ,vehi e howeve no lim teto thi na ie a type of a bu xtend into o di ee o ra io -s nce man d iv ran messen rs d si t ee er o s r e ed reh iien h l rivin :T i d s r e oth p e t inve ha rn any advantages over previous types of screens.:lt-is: d t plast r me .Which not onl a (t the at a ti e pe ran e n l hnes o th e eeno u en er th u t hst ee and unbre Th le te .al lee u e lee li et st in h c e whe n in c a 1.1 1.55 ad t th ee is da te to he idebly inserted into the glass run conventionally prov e in the d reme thpro i n a i m mounting for the screen as distinguished from the usualinsecure and fragile arrangements for ifastening a screen to a vehiclewindow. This stable mounting, and the superior seal resulting therefrom,partially results from making the overall width of the screen betweenthe front and rear edgesthereof somewhat Widerthan the :width of theWindow opening, so that when assembled the marginal edges of the screenframe extend a short distanceinto the glass run surrounding the windowopening. Insertion of this Wider screen into the windowopening isrendered .possibledby the flexibilityof the plastic frame, which permitsthe screen to be bent during installation.

Still other objects of the invention include providing a windowscreenwhich is interchangehle and can be use w t the cor es n inwindowat the opposite side of-thetcar and which screens the upperportionof the indow opening ltha h we PQ PiQI-LQ the :WI AQQW may: h

l5 and therearwaiid area bv aslidealole )Nl opened ior signallingpurposes. To this end the ;lower edge of e the screen frame is shaped tocorrespond; to the npperetig e of the window glass and 'is formedtointerlock therewithhto prevent lateral displacement of the screen when,the window is raise'd. addition, means are provided, in theform ofresilient metallic clips, ,to hold .the screen in p l acein the upperportipn ,of the window opening and to prevent itfroin movin g downwardlywhen the window islopened.

Besides the advantages gmentioned ahoxleflthe window screenis easilyandinexpensively manu- -faetured,..and thuscan be offered for sale a't an vjattractive price. ,Qther objectsand'advaritages of thissinvention-nwillbe made more apparentlas this description proceeds. particularly whencon sidered in connection with the accompanying drawings iniwhich: o

Figure 1 is .a ofragmentary side.elevtationota vehicle, showing. the,front, door thereof equipped with .a window screen embodying thepresentinvention.

Figural is anenlargedleleyation .of the window screen-removedcf romv theyehicle. Figures 3, 4 and .5 are enlarged. cross sectional viewstakensubstantially on the planes indicated bylthe lines 3-;3, 4:4 and,5- 5 .of Figureul. I Figure-6 is, an enlargedlfragmentary, side ,eleuation, partly broken away milar to a portion of Figure 1 andishowingthescreenframe and ,a metallic .clipv in engagement .withtheglass run.Figure 7 is ,a, cross section-takensubstantially onvthe linejl1oflifignre 16.

- i ll 3 ees-t l e mehte Q i hrou h th tr m meeih etien- R f in QWMQ Qpa ul 1 .12 ewnss shewnie W d -W1 il designed to scrcenhthe upper Yportion of the Window p nst? i nr e in h rento doo clfi- Asiscnst ry,the windowopening I2 is diyided e Yemen herllintmtt s i m h forwardsection peing closed by a pivoted glassJS. The window glass isreciprocahle tertically within a glass runill installed 13116119 91frame and theverticalbar around the margin of thawindowwpening, As bestseen in:Figure 2,-the window screen 1! comprises screen imaterial "I 8supported within a lwindowirame, i9, preferablyformed of alplastic suchas methyl methacrylate. Theframe-"I-Q includes a 'top section d I,sides; 22 and. :23, .bottom 24,;and a diriding strip fi. Theiolutsidecontours of the-top 2 and thelsidesifl Iand -Z3Hconform with the shapeofthe correspondingupper portion of the window opening l2, but attentionis di-" rected to the fact that the overall width of the screen I I,that is, the distance between the sides 22 and 23, is somewhat greaterthan the width of the window opening. Inasmuch as the frame of thewindow screen is relatively thin, and is formed of plastic, it isflexible and the entire screen can be readily bent to enable it to beinserted into the window opening. The thickness of the top and sides ofthe frame corresponds generally to the thickness of the window glass It,and consequently the frame is readily slideable within'the glass run l1.As best seen in Figure 1, in which the outline of the window screenframe is shown in dotted lines, the marginal edges of the frame extend asufficient distance into the glass run Cit I! to firmly mount the screentherein and prevent lateral displacement.

A pair of resilient metallic clips 28 are provided .upon the screenframe and serve to releasably not only temporarily support the screenafter it has initially been inserted in the window opening and beforethe window glass is raised, but also enable the window glass to belowered to permit signalling and the like without having the screen dropdownwardly. Figures 6 and 7 best show the construction of the clips 26.The upper portion of each clip is formed with a pair of spaced flanges21 which embrace the front side 22 of the screen frame, being securedthereto by rivets 28. The body portion 29 of the clip comprises aresilient strip approximately equal in width to the thickness of thescreen frame and formed at its lower end with a pair ofrearwardlyextending flanges 3| on opposite sides of the screen frame.Each of the lower flanges 3| terminates in an outwardly extending tab32, Inasmuch as the clips 26 are mounted upon the frame near the loweredge thereof, the tabs 32 can readily be grasped between the thumb andforefinger for manipulation when insertingor removing the screen. Around head rivet 33 is mounted upon the lower end of the body portion 29of the clip and is engageable with the bottom of the glass run l1, beingyieldably held in looking engagement therewith. From the foregoing itwill be apparent that the clips 26 can readily be retracted to releasethe window screen from the glass run, and during operation function tohold the screen in position.

As seen in Figure 5, the bottom 24 of the plastic frame I9 is formed ofa thicker section than the l balance of the frame, and has a groove 34in its lower face adapted to receive the upper edge of the window glass[6. With the window glass seated within the groove 34 the bottom of thescreen frame is effectively held against lateral displacement. Anotheradvantage of this construction is that it is not necessary wheninserting the screenin the window opening to take the pains necessary toposition the screen in its uppermost location in the glass run, sincewhen the window glass I6 is raised the latter will engage the lower edgeof the screen frame and force the latter upwardly into its properposition.

It will be noted that'the window screen II is exactly symmetrical abouta vertical longitudinal vided for each window, either screen will fiteithel" window.

Various methods of manufacture are available for forming the screenframe and for installing the screen material therein. The top 2| andsides 22 and 23 can be formed with a groove 35 part way therethrough toreceive the screen material and a slot 36 can be cut completely throughthe bottom 24 and the dividing strip 25 to enable the screen material tobe inserted through the slot, after which it can be cemented in place.Another possible arrangement is shown in Figure 8, in which the screenframe 4| is formed of two sections 42 and 43 each provided with a rabbet44 to form a groove in the frame when the sections are assembledtogether. In this construction the frame sections and the screenmaterial can be suitably cemented together. Still another method ofmanufacturing the window screen is to extrude the top and sides in onepiece, and to form the bottom as a separate extruded section. Theextruded sections are formed with the necessary grooves for receivingthe screen material, and after the screen material has been insertedtherein, the sections may be suitably cemented together. It will thus beseen that the screen readily lends itself to various methods ofmanufacture, and can be produced inexpensively.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to theexact construction shown and described, but that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a window screen for insertion in a window opening of a vehicle bodyin which a window glass is slideably mounted in glass runs carried bythe vehicle body adjacent the periphery of the window opening, acontinuous one piece plastic frame, the top and sides of the framehaving a thickness suitable for sliding engagement with said glass runs,the width of said plastic frame being greater than the width of thewindow opening but the height of the plastic frame being less than theheight of the window opening, the top and bottom portions of saidplastic frame being resilient and bendable for insertion into the glassruns at the sides of the window opening, the bottom portion of saidplastic frame having a thickness substantially greater than thethickness of the top and sides of the frame and having a groove formedin its lower surface snugly fitting over the upper edge of the windowglass where by the window glass supports the window screen againstlateral movement, the top and sides of the plastic frame having inwardlyopening slots extending only partially through the frame and the bottomportion of the frame having a slot extending completely therethrough forreceiving the screen material through the slot in the bottom of theframe and into the slots in the top and sides of the frame, and 'a pairof metallic clips mounted upon opposite sides of said plastic frameadjacent the bottom thereof, each of said clips having a U-shapedattaching portion secured to the side of the frame, a U-shaped operatingportion spaced from said U-shaped attaching portion and slideablyembracing the side of the plastic frame, and a resilient connectiongportion extending between said U-shaped attaching portion and saidU-shaped operating portion and yieldably engaging the bottom of theadjacent glass run to support the window screen in the opening againstdisplacement when the Window the glass run.

STEPHEN J. GALLA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Fowler Apr. 29, 1902 Good Jan.17, 1911 Rodwick May 16, 1913 Dyer June 17, 1913 Boykin Nov. 17, 1914Jeeve Dec. 8, 1914 Barker Sept. 7, 1920 Becker Oct. 4, 1927 McCormackApr. 8, 1930 Hicks Apr. 12, 1932 Trescher Sept. 9, 1941 Wilber Jan. 5,1943

